The ICCC participated in the Altanovas mission of seven Québec-based companies in February, and all members of that mission have joined the Chamber as corporate members. These companies, which hail from very diverse sectors of the economy, are establishing operations in Ireland using Irish state incentive programs and creating jobs in Ireland as well as creating research and development partnerships with various of the Institutes of Technology. They will use Ireland as a basis for growing their European operations as well as their global sales. Much more news on these companies as we can publish it.

As everyone is now aware, Mayor Denis Coderre will be in Dublin on Friday April 29 for at least one day as part of his trip to Europe. As part of the economic aspect of the visit, Montréal International (whose mandate is attracting businesses to establish in Montréal) will also be present in Dublin. In addition to group events outlined in the lead article of this newsletter, Mayor Coderre and his team will have a private meeting with the Lord Mayor of Dublin, and we are waiting to hear if there will be a limited open event in the Mansion House at the end of the afternoon. We will buy the Mayor a well-deserved pint afterwards to celebrate his historic visit.

Since our last ICCC news in February, we have held two very enjoyable Craic (last-Thursday-of-the-month) networking evenings, which featured product tasting from members Oceanis Brands (Mike Magee) and Brasserie Le Grimoire.

We are also pleased to welcome as a new member of the Chamber, Ms. Annemarie Smith Floch of ICAO. Annemarie represents Ireland in the International Civil Aviation Organization, a specialized Agency of the United Nations based in Montréal. Welcome also to Michael Papelian, who is no stranger to the chamber.

A brief update on the topic of direct flights: I will meet with Dublin Airport Authority during my visit to Dublin this week to see how we can advance this initiative, another ICCC project referenced by both our Mayor and the Irish ambassador, Ray Bassett last month.

Please bookmark the date of June 15 for our Annual General Meeting followed by our Annual “Get-together” in Hurley’s Irish Pub. Also, please reserve the date of Tuesday December 6, 2016 for our 25th Anniversary Christmas Reception. It will be an event not to be missed.

As always, we will keep you up to date on chamber activities. We extend a thank you to both the committed volunteers who make things happen and to Anne Forrest for keeping you all informed on a regular basis.